REAL PEOPLE, REAL ISSUES

March 17, 2008

Report urges LAPD to change SWAT unit

A panel of law enforcement experts convened by Los Angeles Police Chief
William J. Bratton to examine the department's elite SWAT unit
concluded in an undisclosed report that the rigorous testing to get
into the unit should be changed to make it more open to women, called
for tighter supervision and criticized officers for relying too heavily
on force over negotiations. Those
conclusions and others, included in a draft of the panel's confidential
report obtained by The Times, have deeply angered several Special
Weapons and Tactics Team members, who say the changes -- some of which
already have been imposed -- are misguided and will probably weaken the
specialized unit that is charged with handling hostage situations and
other high-risk operations."This is a recipe for disaster," said a SWAT officer who has served in
the unit for more than a decade. "We don't get to back up and do things
over. . . . These changes are going to put us and the public in
danger." Several
current SWAT officers and one former team member who were interviewed
for this report all spoke on condition that their names not be used,
out of fear that they would face retaliation by superiors. In an agency
that rarely, if ever, deals publicly with internal turmoil, the report
exposes a growing rift between Bratton and the department's most
storied group of officers. The report was submitted to Bratton
more than a year ago. He has denied requests by The Times to make the
panel's findings public and has not shared the full contents of the
report with the Los Angeles Police Commission, the civilian body that
oversees the department. Assistant Chief Sharon Papa, who
oversaw the panel's work, said the report's recommendations would be
presented to the commission in two to three months. Papa and Bratton
declined Monday to comment on the report. Several of the report's
authors also declined to comment, citing the confidentiality of their
work. One member confirmed that the final version of the report does
not differ significantly from the draft obtained by The Times. SOURCE OF THIS STORY

Comments

Report urges LAPD to change SWAT unit

A panel of law enforcement experts convened by Los Angeles Police Chief
William J. Bratton to examine the department's elite SWAT unit
concluded in an undisclosed report that the rigorous testing to get
into the unit should be changed to make it more open to women, called
for tighter supervision and criticized officers for relying too heavily
on force over negotiations. Those
conclusions and others, included in a draft of the panel's confidential
report obtained by The Times, have deeply angered several Special
Weapons and Tactics Team members, who say the changes -- some of which
already have been imposed -- are misguided and will probably weaken the
specialized unit that is charged with handling hostage situations and
other high-risk operations."This is a recipe for disaster," said a SWAT officer who has served in
the unit for more than a decade. "We don't get to back up and do things
over. . . . These changes are going to put us and the public in
danger." Several
current SWAT officers and one former team member who were interviewed
for this report all spoke on condition that their names not be used,
out of fear that they would face retaliation by superiors. In an agency
that rarely, if ever, deals publicly with internal turmoil, the report
exposes a growing rift between Bratton and the department's most
storied group of officers. The report was submitted to Bratton
more than a year ago. He has denied requests by The Times to make the
panel's findings public and has not shared the full contents of the
report with the Los Angeles Police Commission, the civilian body that
oversees the department. Assistant Chief Sharon Papa, who
oversaw the panel's work, said the report's recommendations would be
presented to the commission in two to three months. Papa and Bratton
declined Monday to comment on the report. Several of the report's
authors also declined to comment, citing the confidentiality of their
work. One member confirmed that the final version of the report does
not differ significantly from the draft obtained by The Times. SOURCE OF THIS STORY

September 2012

Comments Policy

The opinions expressed on the blog are the personal opinions of the posted respective blogger(s), and in no way reflect the opinions of KIRO blogspot and its affiliate social networks.

Comments Policy

Comments are welcomed and encouraged on this site, but there are some instances where comments will be edited or deleted as follows: Comments deemed to be spam or questionable spam will be deleted. Including a link to relevant content is permitted, but comments should be relevant to the post topic. Comments including profanity will be deleted. Comments containing language or concepts that could be deemed offensive will be deleted.
Comments that attack a person individually will be deleted.
The owner of this blog reserves the right to edit or delete any comments submitted to this blog without notice. This comment policy is subject to change at anytime.